"Misa Misa's interview sure is taking a long time, you think everything is okay?"

Matsuda asked me, waiting for me to swallow the puddle of coffee in my mouth.

"You'll drive yourself crazy worrying, it's like they say no news is good news, right?"

I offered him a refill from the trolly we were standing together at, one Watari left to self-serve from.

As I poured his cup, I noticed was behind L, who was seated in front of his normal setup. Catching a few lines of their low conversation, it seemed the team was back together and still doubting L's movements against Kira.

"Man, I'm beat!"

Misa's voice rang out before her physical person appeared from the door, Mogi strolling right behind. After planting herself next to Light, she announced that she handed out her email and three of the seven had already contacted her for personal interviews.

"So, as we planned, I just go on these three dates and investigate each one right?"

I didn't care about the answer L gave her, I was too busy chewing on the inside of my bottom lip. Her remark struck deep into the pit of my stomach. This was the same girl who fought to cut out a kissing scene in her movie debut. I could remember the hurt of infidelity on her voice and face when she confided in that "double date" a few months before.

"Violet, you've grown pale, are you alright?"

Matsuda's voice cut through my train of thought. I assured him of my well-being before putting down my cup onto the trolly and taking my place back at the computer screens.

"Misa, that will put you in even more danger than today. I won't stop you from doing the commercial, but that's it."

The stillness was heavy as nothing for those few seconds crawled by. Normally Misa Amane would have started crying or begging Light to let her help catch Kira, I mean she did a lot of pleading to help just a day ago.

"Alright Light. I'm going to bed."

I pulled my eyesight towards L's profile, knowing if I noticed it then L noticed more. His face was still hard as stone as he chomped down on a piece of dark chocolate-coated fruit. Moving my eyes down to scan for other signs, I noticed the large vein in his neck was pulsating just under the surface. The rush of blood meant he was thinking hard and quickly.

"Want to come to bed with me, Light?"

"Misa…"

"I know we're saving the heavy stuff after you catch Kira, but…."

She waited by the opened door of the elevator, heading up to her floor. The whole room was thick with her want and I needed to step outside.

"Oh, Light, don't be so shy."

"Yes, don't be so shy."

I choked back a childish giggle at L's mockery, unsure of the point but finding enjoyment still.

"Really, Ryuzaki? How about uncuffing Light and going to bed with Violet?"

I let out a hard sigh, asking Misa not to pair me and "Ryuzaki" in that matter. Since, you know, he's my boss.

"Besides, if I get to go to bed tonight, I'll go alone."

Soon after Misa's departure, I was excused to go sleep off my two-day work binge, which I happily went away without objection. After a nice hot soak and slipping into warm and fuzzy pajamas, I fell asleep without much trouble.

The pain of laying in one spot for too long stirred me awake. A glance at the digital alarm clock on the bedside table told me I'd only been out of it for eighteen hours. I sighed and got up to go back to work.

Needing to get the blood pumping, I took the stairs down from the fourth floor to the basement. Once I got down there, I noticed only L and Light were around and strangely enough the place was pretty dimmed.

Only the soft lighting from the computer screens offered any illumination to the room. Taking my work seat, I asked what was going on.

"Sometimes, I like to work in the dark. I rarely get to do it now with all these other people."

I picked up the small packet of names reported on news channels earlier this morning and began to chart the data on my laptop as a visual representation of deaths.

"How long has he been asleep?"

"Only about ninety minutes. Light should be entering REM sleep by now and with the few all-nighters he's pulled he should be out for a while."

Now that L had mentioned it, Light had started to work days on end and then crash for hours. Maybe soon he might start sitting with his knees to his chest or living off nothing but sugar.

"Good, I want to ask you something."

I closed what I was working on to speak freely. It had been something on my mind for the last few weeks and this was most likely the best time to talk.

"When Kira's caught and everything is said and done, what are you going to do?"

"Hmm?"

I thought maybe he didn't understand the question, but once I looked over I saw his cheeks full of banana and couldn't help be smile at his idiosyncrasy.

"I… will do what I always do."

Staring at L's face, the cold storm of sadness brewed around my heart.

"Take me with you, like you use to do years ago."

It had to be only seconds, it wouldn't make sense to think I was sitting in that office chair for hours. Time and pressure were playing too much and I didn't appreciate it.

"I can't, not because I don't want to but because you're not asking professionally."

He finally put his fork down, turning his chair to face me. L lifted his cuffed wrist slightly above his head to free up slack. It was quite a scene to be taken in if it didn't feel like I was drowning.

I knew what he was thinking just by looking at his face, but this time L was going to have to say it out loud.

"Violet…"

I swallowed hard as he called me by my first name instead of an honorific. The look on his face changed just slightly as he thought about his next words.

"I'm busy right now, let's discuss this another time."

L really was busy at the moment, working on a much smaller case involving someone very important in Finnland dead and lots of money gone. It's the only details he would indulge me about it.

"Oh, no you're not. You're like a cat with a mouse."

I didn't need to check to know that L had engulfed that case quickly and was just now playing with the remains so he didn't get too bored with the way the Kira case was going.

"Don't make me say it, Violet."

"Say what? That you can't be like everyone else? I never asked for anything you couldn't handle."

A chilled feeling rung through my entire right arm from griping too hard onto the chair handle.

The small lump in his throat bobbed up and down as his nerves of steel were rusting. If I knew L like I thought I did, he was hating this confrontation.

"I'm not asking for picket fences, but, you can at least stop pretending I'm nothing but a mistake you have to hide."

My words took him off guard, only knowing so from watching the arch of his mouth fall and vital signs pump faster under his washed-out skin.

The urge to throw in the towel chewed at the center of my chest, a feeling I was unused to with L. Underneath it all, it just seemed like a lost cause from this point on that I had faithfully given eleven years unsolicited. I tried to cage those regrets back up quickly before I vocalized the thoughts I was sure were just my aggravation taking shape.

"No, stop."

He finally commanded, forcing me to sit back down from the standing position I'd just reached.

"I think I understand now what I need to do…"

With that line of thinking, L pressed his thumb to his lip. He asked me to step over and I did without hesitation. His sweet breath welcomed me as he leaned up for closeness, the bass in his voice shook though his face stayed hard as stone.

"I love you,"

The words came out soft like a breeze but crumbled my world like an earthquake.

"I'll never take you with me, but if you follow me anyway, well, I would enjoy the challenge."

I stared into his black eyes, impressed with his tongue movements even though this was a first for L. Snaking my free hand up his imprisoned arm to help hold off the slack of his chains.

"Challenge accepted, Ryuzaki."

I ran my thumb over his lips, gentle and careful to relive the memories of doing it before. My heart skipped a beat as his mouth parted just a tiny bit to my touch. Before leaning in to collide with L, I had to swallow back the overflow of desire smothering me.

That first taste is always the sweetest, soft like feathers and hot like flames. I could become addicted to the feelings his lips gave me, unable to act like a civilized human anymore. Nothing could be helped when I heard a low gasp escape from his lips as I interlocked our fingers together.

"Violet…"

Words failed me over and over, as all I could do was move my lips to his neck for an answer. Delighted in the sweet scent of his skin, finding that sinful spot and milking it till the area became warm with rushing blood.

I know better than to leave any marks, so I moved along.

"You can touch me too." It came out like begging instead of leading but damn it I was circling the drain here.

I knew from experience to lead L gently and that he was a quick learner but I didn't think he'd remember much about this subject. Something must have stuck with him, using his freed hand to push the untamed locks of hair from my face.

With how hard my chest was pounding, I wasn't sure if I'd heard right or not, but when L greeted the large letter W lighting up his screen I knew I had.

"Ryuzaki, Miss. Amane and Mogi have returned and are in the parking garage."

"Yes, thank you."

I had fallen back into my chair, listening to L stir in his seat waking Light, feeling both unsatisfied and fulfilled all at once.

L gave the order to Watari to send everyone else back downstairs to see just what it was that Misa might have dug up. I wasn't sure exactly why my stomach was doing backflips but something told me to pay extra attention.

"I did it! Misa was a big help to Light this time!"

Her voice echoed before her petite body got close enough. It was quite insane how she could stay so bubbly all the time. Without saying anything else, she pressed a button on her mobile phone.

Audio started pumping through the tiny cellphone speaker with Kyosuke Higuchi's voice damning himself as Kira. Without running the sound through programs, I wasn't sure we could say legally it was evidence, but God, it would be nice if this was the break we'd been working towards.

Involuntary, I took a small peak at L. He was acting like himself but something seemed very off about him. Truth be told, I couldn't blame him. All of this seems too good to be true.